


Survival of the Fittest

by Hipsher



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Kidnapping, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on Tumblr, Other, Reader is gender neutral
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:01:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27238465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hipsher/pseuds/Hipsher
Summary: Welcome to the Badlands of Montana! This will be the setting of our game. What’s the name of the game? Simple, make it out alive. In which you and Jaemin are kidnapped and forced to try and find your way out of the Badlands.I promise there is a reason I made y/n the way I did!!Warnings: This is about kidnapping, so if anything about that stresses you out then this is not for you. I describe punishment possibilities, but there is no gore!
Relationships: Na Jaemin/Reader
Comments: 14
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you don’t know what the badlands are (me three months ago), then I suggest you look it up! Just so you have more of an idea what it looks like.

“Welcome, subjects 24 and 25.”

You open your eyes, immediately closing them upon staring straight into the bright sky.

_Why is it so bright?_

“My name is Theos, and I will be overseeing your time here.”

_And why is that voice so loud?_

“It’s time to open your eyes, number 25. I know you’re awake.”

Groaning, you slowly sit up ready to tell whichever of your roommates was making so much noise to quiet down. Bringing a hand to cover your eyes, you slowly open your eyes.

 _Holy crap._ This is definitely not your dorm room and the man staring back at you is definitely not one of your roommates.

“It is my pleasure to inform you that you both have been chosen to partake in the game of the century.”

“Where is that voice coming from?” you ask the man in front of you.

Without saying anything, he points to somewhere behind you. Following his finger, you turn around to see a PA system speaker on a pole.

“Enough small talk, let’s cut to the chase, shall we? If you look around, you will notice that you aren’t in your dorm room or at home. I welcome you both to the Badlands, which will serve as our setting for the game. The badlands we are in consists of 11,538 acres of rocky, dry land with the highest altitude being 2,415 ft. The badlands are home to snakes, turtles, bighorn sheep, ferrets, and birds of prey. The name of this game is to make it out of here alive.”

You feel your stomach drop as you become painfully aware of what’s happening. This man, Theos, is forcing you and this other guy to partake in some twisted experiment.

“Please don’t make us do this, we’ll die out here,” you plead. You’ve watched enough Criminal Minds to know this rarely works, you always rolled your eyes at it. But now you understand, you have to do something to try and get out of the situation.

“Now now, number 25, do you really think I’ve brought you both here just to die? I’m not a monster. If you’ll both look to your left, you’ll see some rocks placed on top of each other to form a sort of small shelter. Under there you will find a backpack with some supplies inside.”

You and the man exchange a look before he picks himself up, walking over to the pile of rocks. He crouches down, bending his head to look into the gap before reaching his hand in and pulling out a red backpack. Standing up, you walk the few steps to where he’s standing.

“Inside the bag, you will find a flashlight, two bottles of water, two protein bars, two oranges, and one watch. How fast or how slow you use these is entirely up to you, but there are six other backpacks along the way out. The weather during this month ranges from 56 degrees Fahrenheit to 78 degrees Fahrenheit, with rain coming at least nine days. The current time is 2 in the afternoon.”

“This is crazy, you can’t do this to us. Just let us go, we don’t know what you look like so we can’t turn you in. If you let us go now, I’ll pretend this was all some dream. I’m sure they’d do the same, right?” The man next to you says, looking at you to confirm his offer.

“Right, of course, I would. We haven’t been hurt yet, no harm no foul.”

“Along with speakers being placed around,” the voice continues, ignoring your pleas. “You are both wearing chokers that hold small cameras. This is so I can monitor your progress and determine your results. Each backpack from now on will have new chokers that you’ll put on so the camera doesn’t die. Failure to do so will result in punishment, which can include any of the following: second degree burns to the bottom of the foot, food or water removed from the next backpack, taking away shoes, and so on. I would name the rest but I think you both get the idea right?”

You numbly nod your head, feeling your throat burn from holding back tears. One wrong move and you were dead.

“Now that you are both familiar with the rules, our contact will be minimal. I sincerely wish you both the best of luck, you seem like the most promising batch. Without further adieu, let the games begin!” 

After the voice cuts out, you feel your breath leave your body. Taking a few steps away from the man, you crouch down to hug your knees. Closing your eyes, you focus on your breathing.

_In two three four, out two three four. In two three four, out two three four. In -_

“Are you okay?”

You snort, opening your eyes and standing back up to face him.

Before you can even say anything, he shakes his head. “Sorry, that was a dumb question. You just looked a bit more… not okay.”

You laugh humorously, feeling some tears fall. “Let’s not worry about me and worry about getting out of here. I’m sure you’re just as not okay as I am, so why don’t we just do our best to get out of here as soon as possible? I’m y/n.”

“Jaemin.”

You nod your head, shaking your hands to try and relieve some of the nerves. 

Looking down, you finally notice that you’re both wearing the same thing: black tennis shoes, black jeans, and a pastel yellow hoodie. “What are we wearing?”

“I don’t know, but these must belong to Theos,” he mumbles. “We should take off these hoodies, if it’s two in the afternoon it’s gotta be the hottest it’ll get today.”

“Right.”

As you pull off the hoodies, you see that underneath you’re both wearing white short-sleeve shirts. Tying your sweater around your waist, you scan the area around you. He had put you two on white flat, cracked ground surrounded by hills of rock on three sides. On the fourth side is a path of sorts that leads out to more rock hills. All there is is rock.

“I think our first course of action is to get to the top of one of these hills. Maybe we can see which way we need to go?” Jaemin suggests.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Jaemin reaches into the bag, pulling out the watch before slinging the backpack over his shoulder. “Can you,” he starts quietly, turning the watch over in his hands. “ Can you help me put this on? I’ve never been very good at doing these.”

You smile softly, reaching out for the watch with shaking hands. Jaemin watches you put the watch on, mumbling a quiet thank you once it was attached.

“Which one looks the most climbable?” you ask, scanning the hills again.

“Mmm, maybe that one?” He points to a hill on your left. “It’s just as steep as the other ones but it looks like it has a lot of places to grab. Plus, from there we can get to the hill behind that easier, don’t you think?”

“Okay, then that one it is.”

You walk towards the hill, looking up to the top of the hill. _This is not going to be easy._

“I’d say the one behind it is about 200ft, but hopefully once we get to the top of this one it’ll be easier to climb,” Jaemin comments, looking up next to you.

“Okay, then I guess we have to be extra careful not to fall.”

He chuckles softly. “That’s an understatement.”

With that, you both grab hold of a rock and pull yourself up. The angle is steep enough where you can’t walk up it, but it isn’t too steep to the point where you need climbing gear to do it safely. So after about 30 minutes of struggling and slipping a handful of times, you and Jaemin make it to the top of the hills.

“I don’t know how many more times I can do that,” you huff, interlocking your fingers on top of your head.

“Well, hopefully, we’ll know which way to go from here so we won’t need to climb any more mountains,” he answers, equally out of breath.

“Speaking of which, you look that way,” you say pointing the way you had climbed up. ”And I’ll look this way.” You point to the area behind you.

He nods his head and turns around to look in the direction you pointed.

When you turn around, you’re met with the unsettling view of rocky hills for as far as you can see. You walk as far to the edge as you can without falling off, hoping to see some sign of humanity.

“I don’t see anything,” you whisper, feeling the dread you have been pushing down start to spread.

“Me either, maybe if we check the other sides? I’ll go to the one down there.”

Before you can say anything, Jaemin is walking off and turning around a stone wall.

Sighing, you turn and look off the edge to your left. Again, you’re met with the unsettling view of rock. And while you know Jaemin is just around the corner, you can’t help but feel alone. You’ve never been afraid to be alone before.

_In two three four, out two three four._

“Y/n! I think I see something.”

Shaking your head, you take in a deep breath as a final effort to combat the fear. “Coming!”

“You see that over there?” He points his finger off to the right. “There’s a green patch with white specks, I think those are houses.”

After searching the area where he is pointing, you find a patch of green. You feel your eyes widen. “Oh my god Jaemin, I think that’s our way out.”

You would have to walk over many mini hills if you guys went in a straight line, but that would be better than getting lost all over again.

“Okay okay,” he says, grinning. “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. We need to figure out a plan on how to get there.”

You nod your head, sitting down on the edge. You pat the spot next to you, looking up at him. “I say we walk at night and sleep during the day. That way, we can keep our body temperature high enough to the point where we won’t freeze and I think the snakes won’t be out then -it’ll be too cold for them.”

He nods his head, taking a seat next to you. “Then during the day, we should sleep in shifts. You know, watch out for snakes and such. What do we do about backpacks? What if we miss one?”

 _Second degree burns, no shoes, no food or water, probably death._ “We can’t miss one, so we won’t. We’ll just pay extra attention to what’s around us.”

You know you don’t sound very convincing, but that’s the most optimistic you can afford to be.

Clearing your throat, you push yourself up. “Come on, let’s start walking.”

“I thought you wanted to walk during the night?”

“Do you think you can sleep right now?” You ask, dusting off your pants as best you can. _Why, out of all the colors, did this sicko pick black?_

“Fair enough,” he agrees, standing next to you and giving his pants a quick brush off.

“Back down the mountain we go?”

“Down we go.”

~~

“So what kind of a name is Jaemin?” You ask, breaking the five-minute silence since making it back down the mountain.

“Korean.”

“Korean?” You couldn’t help the surprise in your voice. “No offense, but how does a Korean family find themselves in Montana?”

“It’s a long story.”

“What if I told you I was free for the next,” you bring your wrist up in front of your face to mimic looking at a watch. “Day or two. Enlighten me.”

He chuckles. “Alright, but you have to promise me that after I say the first sentence you won’t interrupt me.”

“Exciting, bring it on.”

“Is that how you promise someone? By challenging them?”

“Sure, why not? But enough about me, I’m ready to not interrupt.”

He playfully rolls his eyes. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it. There isn’t any nice way to word it, and I always find it a weird thing to say, but my mom was a mail-order bride.” He turns his head to look at you, waiting for you to say something. After you give him a look conveying the message ‘I’m not saying anything so you can continue’, he turns his head to look straight ahead again.

“My dad was married to this one girl, her name was Ruth and from what he told us she was the nicest human alive. She was a humanitarian and helped with a bunch of fundraising projects. Anyways, they were only married for three years before she passed away from cancer, and one of her last wishes was for him to get a mail-order bride. She knew how many women went to abusive husbands and if she could help one last person, there was nothing that could stop her.”

“So as you know, my mom was the lucky woman. They decided to apply for this one visa that requires you to be together for at least two years before you actually get the visa. During those two years, my dad would send money over to Korea so she could take English classes. Once the two years were up, they got married in Korea, adopted me, and moved back here to my dad’s hometown. Four years later they adopted my sister.”

Listening to the story, you can’t help but feel as if this is something you aren’t supposed to know. Something too personal for someone like you to know.

“I’m sorry,“ you blurt, rubbing your hands together nervously. "I pushed you to tell me something way too personal.”

“Oh no, don’t be.” He waves his hand dismissively. “I tell all of my friends that story as soon as I feel close to them.”

“But you just met me.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “I feel like by the time this is over, you and I are going to be really close.”

“Do you,” you hesitate, running your fingers along the fabric of the choker. “Do you think we’re going to make it out of here?” 

He doesn’t answer, turning his head to look at all the surrounding rock.

It isn’t until you lose your footing, and he instinctively reacts, ready to catch you in case you aren’t able to catch yourself, does he answer. “We have to, so we will.”

He’s looking at you, actually looking at you. No one ever looks at you like that, they’re either looking at the wall next to you, at the ground, at the person behind you, at anything that isn’t your eyes for more than three seconds.

But not Jaemin.

“We should get some water,” you whisper, walking behind him to open the backpack. “Are you okay sharing? It’ll make us more aware of how much water we’re drinking.”

“Are you diseased?”

“No,” you laugh, grabbing one of the plastic water bottles and zipping up the bag. “No, I am not.”

“Then yes, I am perfectly fine sharing a bottle with you.”

“Good.” You take a drink from the bottle before passing it to him. 

“So what about you, are you from here?” He asks, taking a drink of the water.

“Oh no, I came here with my ex-husband.”

You laugh as he chokes on the water, earning the reaction you were looking for.

“What?” He turns his head away from you to cough a few more times before turning back to you, eyes wide with shock. “But you can’t be older than me, and if you are it isn’t by much. What year were you born?”

“I was born in 2000.” You take the water from his hand, walking behind him to put it back. “We got married when we were 18.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just surprised. I don’t - I don’t really even know what to say to that.”

You pat the backpack twice before continuing to walk forward. You smile slightly as you hear him rush the few steps to catch up with you. “There isn’t much to the story. Just that I’ve basically been alone my entire life and he said he could get me out of the hell hole that is my hometown. His family is wealthier than mine, not that that’s a hard feat, and he said if I married him then he would buy me a plane ticket out here.”

You’ve never told anyone this, not even your mom and step-father. But you want someone to know this about you, and as this might be your last chance to tell anyone. It’s now or never.

“Were you guys in love?”

You laugh. “Oh God no, we got divorced like five months later. I’ve never been in love, but I didn’t have to be to know that that was so far from love. It was purely me taking advantage of a situation. Now don’t ask me what Sam, my ex, got out of it. I couldn’t give him anything. In all honesty, I think he saw me as some sort of charity project.”

“I’m sorry -”

“Don’t be, if I had the choice to go back and fix it, I wouldn’t have.” You don’t need him feeling sorry for you. You’ve worked too hard to give into other people’s pity now.

Jaemin nods his head, glancing down at the watch. “It’s 4:30 now, when should we eat?”

“Well if we’re walking until morning, should we just flip flop our day? At like nine we eat breakfast, at one we eat lunch, and at six or so we eat dinner. That should keep us going decently.”

“Why do you have to be so rational?” he pouts. “I was hoping you’d say we can eat right now.”

“Suck it up, pretty boy. Think of this as an enforced diet.”

He visibly perks up, pout turning into a smile. “You just called me ‘pretty’.” 

You scoff, rolling your eyes. “In what circumstances have you heard ‘pretty boy’ used as a compliment?” 

“Never, but ‘pretty’ is used all the time to compliment people.” 

You smile at his childless. “Whatever floats your boat, buddy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was supposed to be posted as one long thing, but I don’t know about you guys but I hate reading long fics. So this won’t have a lot of parts! I don’t know why, but this fic means a lot to me. But at the same time, I am really nervous to post this and I’m not sure why. I got this idea when my dad took me and my sister on a road trip and we saw the badlands. I have been working on this for a while now and I really hope you guys like this. Thank you to @mozartwasajungkookstan for helping me edit! I would love to know what you guys think, as always have a good day/night!


	2. Chapter 2

“It’s 9:01, can we eat now?”

Groaning, you throw your head back dramatically. “Yes Jaemin, we can eat now.”

“Awesome!” He cheers, before sticking one hand behind his back and the other held out across his stomach. “May I take your coat madam?” He asks in his best French accent.

Making a point to straighten your back, you untie your hoodie from around your waist. “Why thank you, kind sir.”

“Wait right here while I go set your table.” He walks a few steps away, turns his back to you, and drops your hoodie onto the ground.

“Jaemin,” you whine, looking sadly at your sweater that is now laying on the dirty earth. “Now it’s all dirty. You know I have to wear that later right?”

Ignoring you, he unties his own hoodie and places it on the ground across from yours before placing the backpack between them.

He turns around, a wide smile spread across his face and arms placed back into position, and walks back over to you. “Right this way to your table ma’am.”

“I see we’ve abandoned the French accent.”

“Oui oui.”

You follow him back to the jackets, sitting once he gestures to your jacket. “Today, we have the delicious menu of a protein bar or an orange. What tickles your fancy?”

You scrunch your face. “First, don’t ever say that again, that was disgusting. Second, my friend and I will have half a protein bar each.”

He sighs sadly, sitting across from you, and mutters an even sadder “Oui.”

“I know, but we don’t know how far the next backpack is. I think it’s better if we just keep splitting things until we know what’s in the next bag. Once we know that, we can plan accordingly.”

He nods his head, unzipping the bag and pulling out one of the bars. “Can I use my hands to break it?”

“Of course silly, they’re just as clean as mine.”

He tears open the package, carefully pulls out the bar, and breaks it in half. He sighs, having broken the bar into two uneven halves. However, without a second thought he hands you the slightly bigger piece, offering a small smile.

“I hope you don’t think I’m being too bossy.” You break a piece off the bar, looking at it before putting it in your mouth. “I just don’t know what else to do.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t. You’re just saying what everyone is thinking, everyone being me.”

You smile softly at your protein bar, breaking another piece off. “You know, you’re really pleasant to be around.”

“Pretty and pleasant, maybe you should just call me P Man.”

You look up at him just in time to catch the look of regret on his face.

“Actually no, don’t do that.”

“Didn’t think that one through, did you?”

He shakes his head.

“Maybe I could just call you Big P?”

“Shut up.”

~~

“I don’t know if I can do this.”

You and Jaemin had been walking in complete darkness for about ten minutes. You’ve never been afraid of the dark before, but it is starting to freak you out. You know you’re all alone out here - that’s painfully obvious, but you can’t help but to look over your shoulder every minute or so to make sure there’s no one behind you.

“What do you mean?” He asks, turning his head to look at where you were walking beside him before. Once he sees you’re not next to him anymore, he stops and turns to face you. “What’s wrong?”

“I just,” you pause, trying to stop yourself from crying. You’ve never felt comfortable crying in front of people, and you definitely aren’t going to cry in front of the only other person you have.

“I just don’t know if I’m strong enough to do this.” You say slowly. “I know I have to, and I don’t plan to just lay here and die. I just don’t know if I’m strong enough to continue pretending that this isn’t horrifying. And I wouldn’t normally tell you - or anyone for that matter - any of this, but I don’t have any alone time to cry it out.”

Your eyes burn from unfallen tears. Closing your eyes, you take in a deep breath releasing it in a humorless laugh. _I sound so pathetic, I can only imagine what he must think of me._

“Would it help if I told you that I’m also scared out of my mind?”

You open your eyes, expecting to see him mocking you with his eyes. But his eyes, like his voice, are sincere.

“This is an absolute nightmare, and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t trade places with someone on the outside if it meant that I could go free. But I know that that isn’t an option, so I’m using everything in me to just keep going. So between you and me, we don’t have to pretend that this is a friendly hike we decided to take. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable with my jokes, it’s just a way to distract myself from the fact that I have no control here.”

“No no, your jokes are fine. They’re not what I meant when I said I was sick of pretending. I just meant I can’t handle you thinking that I could be okay in this situation. Which sounds stupid, I know, but something about it -” you shake your head, struggling to come up with the right words.

“Why does my opinion matter?” He shakes his head, smiling softly. “You shouldn’t worry about what I think of you, y/n, that’s not what’s important here. Just for the record, I will not judge you for anything you do here. You’re surviving the best way you know how.”

You just stare at him, letting a tear fall.

He tilts his head, a wide smile taking place of the small one. “What? I’m only telling you the truth. It’s not like I’m making a groundbreaking discovery, I’m just reciting what everyone should be told.”

When you still don’t say anything, he puts his hands on his hip. “What am I going to do with you? Come on.”

He reaches forward to grab one of your wrists, pulling you back into a walking pace. “But really, if you ever just need to cry again feel free to do so.” He pats your arm once before letting it go. “I’m not going to judge you for anything you do here, you’re doing what you need to live. How could I judge that?”

“Thank you, Jaemin.”

He chuckles “I already told you, I’m just telling you what everyone deserves to be told.”

“Then thank you, Jaemin, for being the person to tell me that.”

“You’re very welcome, my dear y/n.”

~~

“What the hell was that? I thought snakes hated the cold,” you whisper, frozen in place.

“It must not be cold enough for him away,” Jaemin whispers back, frozen next to you with the flashlight trained where you saw the tail end of a snake disappear into the grass.

“If we move, will it bite us?”

“I don’t know. It has to know we’re too big to eat, right? It wouldn’t try and bite us, right?”

“If it uses its venom we’re not too big for it.” You run your fingers through your hair, sighing. Why is it that all day we don’t see a single one of these suckers, and an hour after sunset we finally see one?

“What do you mean ‘if’?”

“Sam was obsessed with snakes, and one thing I actually remember is that snakes don’t always use their venom when they bite. So as long as we don’t hurt the snake, I don’t think it’ll hurt us.”

“You’re sure of that?”

You nod your head. The information was burned into your brain when your ex tried to convince you that your “honeymoon” should be spent at some reptile house with live snakes.

“Then you wouldn’t mind going first.”

“Nice, Jaemin. Real classy.”

“What? I’m afraid and you seem slightly less afraid. Armed with your snake knowledge you should be invincible!”

“Give me the flashlight.”

“No.” He holds the light close to his chest, sending the beam up to his left. “I’ll shine it on the path and you just walk ahead. Go as far as you can so you’re sure you’re far away from it.”

“I have to make sure I don’t step on it. If I step on it, then it’ll definitely bite me.”

“That’s why I’m shining it on the ground as you walk,” he answers, moving the light to flash it up and down on the path. “Time for your fashion show, you’ve got the spotlight all to yourself. Strut your stuff. You go, girl. Yes, queen. I’m running out of motivational phrases, please hurry. Tear it up -”

“Oh my God shut up,” you laugh, taking a step forward. “I’ll go if you stop.”

“Done and done.”

Taking a deep breath you walk down the path, stopping where you last saw the snake.

“Are you brave enough to come this close? I’m blocking the light and all I can see is my shadow.”

He shifts uncomfortably “I don’t know, y/n, I’m not scared of many things, but snakes are definitely at the top of that list.”

You turn around to face him, ignoring the feeling that you’re turning your back on an unknown danger. “I get it Jaemin, I really do. But wouldn’t it be better to see the enemy before it sees you? Plus, you’ll have to come down this way anyways, wouldn’t you want to do it with someone else?”

He hesitantly nods his head. “And if the snake is still there and we shine a flashlight in his eyes he won’t be too mad right?”

“That I don’t know, but I doubt its head would just be there. I mean we didn’t see any of it when we shined the flashlight before. I just want to make sure, you know?”

He hesitantly nods his head again, scanning the area with the flashlight. When he makes it next to you, he blows out a shaky breath.

Smiling at him, you hook your arm through his. “Hey, it’s okay. Now that we’re here, let’s see if he’s still there, yeah?”

Stepping to the side, the light illuminates the path in front of you. “See.” You turn your head to smile at him before gesturing to the path in front of you. “It’s not here.”

Pulling his arm, you lightly tug him into a walking pace again. He pulls his arm into his side, effectively dragging you closer. You both look to the right where the snake had slithered away, listening for any sound that could resemble a rattle.

You smile softly, bringing your free hand to pat his arm. “We got this Jae, nothing can stop us now.”

He nods his head slowly. “I’m sorry y/n, I don’t know why I’m so scared of those things.”

“You don’t need to apologize, silly. We all have that one animal that we’re scared of. For me, it’s mice. I can’t stand those things.” you shake your head as the memory of finding a mouse in your garage pops into your head.

“I’m still sorry you have to baby me like this, I should be able to take care of myself.”

You hum, nodding your head. “How about this, if we find a mouse you give me a piggyback ride until we’re a safe distance away? That way we’re even.”

“What?” You smile, feeling his head turn to look at you, a playful look of betrayal undoubtedly taking over his face. “If that’s the case, why aren’t you carrying me?”

“Simple my dear Jaemin, whoever suggests the idea gets benefits. And my benefit just so happens to be getting a piggyback ride.”

He scoffs. “I have never heard such a thing in my life.”

“Get a better life then.”

“Will do, captain.” he says, bringing his free hand up to salute.

You shake your head, smile never leaving your face. _Maybe this will all be okay after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a wonderful day/night ♥️


	3. Chapter 3

“What time is it?”

Jaemin tiredly looks down at his watch, blinking a few times. “It’s almost 6:30.”

You nod your head, stopping in place. “Let’s look for a place to stop and sleep.”

“I don’t think the place matters, but more what we can use to block the sun.”

You spin around, looking up to see which side the sun is rising on. “Why don’t we just sleep at the base of that hill?” You point to one of the bigger hills to your left. “That way we aren’t facing the morning sun.”

He nods his head, already moving towards the hill. “Do you want to use my sweater as a pillow?”

“You sleep first,” you say, ignoring the question. “You’re more tired than I am.” **  
**

“Are you sure about that? I don’t mind waiting.”

You smile, nodding your head. Maybe it’s that you’ve surrounded yourself with the wrong people, but you’ve never met anyone other than you who could be so politely selfish. It’s nice of him to offer, but his tone says that he wants you to say he can sleep first. It’s comforting to know that someone like Jaemin, someone so nice, has his moments of selfishness. That someone who seems so genuinely good-hearted has the same trait as you. 

“I’m positive. My feet are the most tired thing about me.”

He sets the bag at the base of the hill, sitting down next to it. “Okay, but if you have trouble keeping your eyes open don’t feel bad waking me up.”

Now that - that’s a genuine offer.

“Of course, Jaemin.” You pull off your sweater, smiling softly as you hand it to him.

He smiles back, reaching his hand up to take it. He holds your stare for a little, long enough to see his smile falter, before clearing his throat and putting your sweater in his lap.

“So yours doesn’t get dirty,” he mumbles, pulling his hoodie off. He balls his sweater into a pillow before placing it on the ground an arms length away.

He looks at you, the hoodie, then back at you. “And you’ll be okay by yourself? I mean I know we have to sleep, but maybe if we just wait until it’s midday to sleep. Then the snakes definitely won’t be out.”

“You don’t have to worry about the snakes, Jaemin. I’ll protect you.” You walk over to where he was, sitting a few feet away from him. “I’ll just stay right here. I might go look around a bit, maybe find a place to use the bathroom, but I promise I’ll stay close.”

He nods his head, laying back onto the makeshift pillow and stretching his legs out. He wraps your hoodie around himself as tightly as he can, shifting around before seeming to find a semi-comfortable spot. “This is going to kill my back.”

You snort. “I know, can’t say I’m excited.”

“Gotta love having back problems,” he mumbles, turning onto his other side.

“Right, it’s like you fall on your tailbone once in fourth grade.” He mutters a small “ouch,” and you can see his face scrunch at the image. “Get scoliosis in high school and your back decides it’s all over.”

“I have a messed up disk in my vertebrae, so twinzies I guess.”

You laugh, leaning your head against the hill. _We’re going to be disgusting by the time we get there._ “I guess you’re right.”

“You’ll learn soon, I’m always right y/n.”

You chuckle. “I’m sure you are Jaemin.”

He turns onto his other side, uttering a sigh as he shuffles around some more.

“Goodnight, Jaemin.”

“I think you mean good morning.”

You roll your eyes, smiling at his childness. “Fine, good morning, Jaemin.”

“Good morning, y/n.”

—-

Jaemin looks over at you, smiling softly.

He’d heard you crying maybe five minutes after he’d laid down, you must’ve thought he was asleep.

If practically raising his little sister had taught him anything, it was to pick your battles. And trying to comfort you in this situation was not a battle he could win.

He closes his eyes, leaning his head against the hill. He’s trying so hard to fight the horrible feeling in his stomach whenever he thinks of Emma.

_Maybe she’s at the Andersons? Or maybe she’s still at the house, scared out of her mind._

He feels tears prick at his own eyes. He would give anything to be back at the house, barging into her room and declaring that tonight was movie night. Where they could sit, pressed against each other on the small couch, sharing a blanket and two bags of popcorn still inside the bag.

_It’s okay Emma, we see our way out. I’ll be home in no time._

—–

_What is this?_

You and Jaemin are stopped dead in your tracks in front of a patch of fake green grass, little golf balls scattered around.

“This isn’t - this can’t be what we were walking towards, can it?”

_Maybe I’m just wrong, no way we could’ve thought this was our way out. This is just a patch of fake grass, this has to be something to deter us from what is in front of us. Right?_

“Let’s just,” he mumbles, walking across the fake grass to pick up the orange backpack resting on the opposite end. “Let’s just open this up.”

He opens it up, sighing as he pulls out a piece of paper. He reads it, closing his eyes before crumpling it into a ball and throwing it on the ground.

“What is it Jaemin? What did it say?”

You want to move, to go over, uncrumple the note, and read it for yourself. Most of the time, you don’t mind brutal honesty. But this is something that can hurt you, something that you can’t just build mental walls to block out.

“What do you think it says?” He snaps. “It basically taunts us for falling for this stupid trap. Tells us this is what we thought was our way out, that this is all some sick joke to motivate us to keep moving.”

“Um okay, let’s just take a moment to think.”

“What is there to think about? We don’t have a third of the power we thought we did.”

You walk towards him, taking every second of the small walk to think of what to say that could calm him down enough to have a decent conversation. “I know, but it’s not like we thought we had much power to begin with. Jaemin you’re not dumb, you know what we are. We’re being forced to participate in this sick game, but we don’t have to let it just be that. We had hope before, and we can find it again.”

“Are you sure? This was what we thought was our one chance at getting out, and it was a lie!” He moves his hands dramatically, not looking at you until the end.

You haven’t known Jaemin long, and considering the situation, you don’t know how much of what you’re seeing is the “real him.” But you know that this isn’t him, this is the fear.

“I understand Jaemin, I do. But we need to calm down and figure out a plan on where we’re going from here.”

“What is planning going to do?” He scoffs. “I can’t imagine someone who married for money having anyone to live for, but I do, y/n. So this might not matter to you, but to me, this is almost the worst outcome.”

You take a half step back, feeling the weight of the words hit you. This is exactly why you never told anyone, you knew how they would see you. Yet, you went against your gut and decided to tell a complete stranger. _And for what? Just to feel like there was someone out there who knew the real you? Real smart y/n, real smart._

You nod your head, scanning his eyes for anything.

Whatever you’re looking for, you don’t see it.

“Okay. So here’s what we’re going to do,” you say, pushing away any emotion trying to come up. Now is not the time to show him anything. “We’re going to change out the cameras on our necks and then climb to the top of another mountain. We’ll see if we can see anything, and if not, we decide what to do from there.”

He stares back at you, eyes still not conveying any emotion. And as much as you want to look away, you keep your ground. Eye contact has always been hard for you, but people will walk over you if you can’t look them in the eyes.

So you’ve adapted.

He nods his head, looking down to open the bag. He silently hands you one of the chokers, setting both backpacks down as he pulls out the other.

After successfully changing out your choker, you look over to see Jaemin still struggling to take his off.

Without saying anything, you walk behind him and gently pull at the new choker until he lets go.

“Y/n-”

“I think we should just transfer all the good stuff into the new backpack,” you interrupt, reaching over his shoulder to hand him the old choker. You can’t tell if he was trying to carry on the conversation from before, maybe explain himself and the things he said or try and coax you into another argument, but whatever it was, you’re not in the mood. “That way we don’t carry around two bags, one only half full.”

He sighs softly. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Cool.”

Crouching down to open the orange bag, you look in to see two apples, two more protein bars, and two more bottles of water. Opening the red backpack, you take what’s left in the bag and place it into the orange one.

“We haven’t eaten yet,” he mumbles before you can close it. “Maybe we should eat before we start climbing.”

You nod your head, reaching into the bag and pulling out one of the two apples. Without looking away from the bag, you extend your arm to hand him the apple. “We should eat them before they go bad.”

“Good idea,” he says, taking the apple from you. His fingers brush yours, and you retract your hand as fast as possible.

Reaching back into the bag, you pull out the other apple. You close your eyes briefly, still bent over the bag. _Why is everything so hard?_

Straightening your back, you take a deep breath to clear your thoughts of the past five minutes. Taking a bite of your apple, you look around at the surrounding hills. They are all roughly the same height, becoming a matter of deciding which one to climb.

“Here,” you say, walking to the base of one of the nearby hills. “This one look tall enough?”

Jaemin looks up, using the hand holding the apple to block the sun from his eyes. “Yeah, I’d say that one’s tall enough.”

“Okay.” You slide your arm through the other strap, tightening them. “Then after we finish our apples, let’s start moving.”

He nods his head, looking away from you as he continues to silently eat. You look up to the mountain, turning your back to him.

You want to ignore the feeling in your gut, ignore the fact that you’re no longer hungry despite hearing your stomach growl. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, you both were supposed to get a happy ending.

But now, you just don’t know. Anything could happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @sleepyyangyang and @softsungchan for proofreading! I definitely think this was one of my rougher ones. I would love to know what you think, have a great day/night!! 


	4. Chapter 4

“What do we do if we don’t see a clear way to go?” you ask, taking heavy breaths as you place your hands on top of your head. _I will_ never _go mountain climbing after this._

“Then I say we just keep walking the way we were going, I mean there isn’t really a point in going back,” Jaemin comments, copying your posture. 

You nod your head, taking one final deep breath, holding it for a few seconds, and letting it go.

The first hill you climbed had more of a flat top, making it so you could walk around the top somewhat easily. But this one isn’t as flat and you both have to lean slightly forward so as not to fall down the hill.

“Well this hill isn’t as big as the other one, so I guess we just stay here and look around. No use in trying to walk around it.”

You nod your head, trying to stand straighter to get a better look around. You sway slightly, leaning forward again to regain your balance.

“Careful,” Jaemin says, reaching his hand out to grab your elbow.

You try to straighten up again, standing up slower this time. Once you manage to straighten yourself, you shake his hand off. “You see anything?”

He sighs softly, straightening himself up.

As you both look around the surrounding landscape, you push the nervous feeling inside you away. Now isn’t the time to let your need to make people like you get in the way.

“I think there’s a building over there,” Jaemin says, excitement lacing his voice. “I’m not crazy right? That’s an actual building.”

Turning around slowly, you silently remind yourself that even if there is a building, you shouldn’t get your hopes up.

But once you’re turned in the direction he’s pointing, you feel your breath catch in your throat. “Oh my god.”

“Okay, now that we know I’m not crazy, how do we know this isn’t another joke or something? What if his whole plan is to lead us to that building and then kill us?”

“We don’t,” you whisper back.

With the reminder that there’s someone else controlling you and the last time you thought you found the way out was a lie, you feel the helplessness feeling start to creep in.

_He knew we’d find that building, hell, he’s probably waiting for us there._

Blinking a few times, you nod your head. “Okay, do we still want to try?”

He doesn’t answer right away, and when you glance over at him, he’s staring at the distant building.

With another sigh, he nods his head.

\---

“I want to apologize.”

You nod your head, not surprised at the sudden apology. Ever since you had made it back down the hill he’s been sending you nervous glances.

“Why? You’re not wrong. I married him for the plane ticket here, so technically, I did marry him for the money.”

“Um,” He pauses, bringing his hand up to rub his neck. “Still, it was wrong, and given I don’t know the full story, I had no right to say that to you. So I’m sorry.”

Nodding your head, you let silence fall between you two again. You normally didn’t let other people’s opinions affect you like this, not in front of them at least. But considering he’s the only person you have, you don’t have any other choice.

“Jaemin?”

He hums in response.

“You don’t know me, and you most certainly don’t know my life. Before you assume I did it only for the money, know I’ve basically been on my own since I was 15. It isn’t my fault Sam presented me with an opportunity.”

He nods slowly, eyes wandering. “I mean it, I am sorry. And I’m not trying to make excuses, I just think the situation is finally getting to me. I should’ve watched my words better, it isn’t your fault we’re stuck out here.”

You sigh, stuffing your hands into your back pockets. “You’re right, you should’ve watched your words better. Maybe you aren’t as cool as you thought you were.”

He chuckles, smiling at you over his shoulder. “Would it help if I told you I’m going through caffeine withdrawal?”

“What?”

“Maybe this is the universe's way of telling me four shots of espresso in each cup was a bad idea.”

“Oh my god, Jaemin.” You slap his shoulder, whatever hurt you still have is pushed aside. “Why didn’t you tell me? You should be drinking way more water than what I’ve been suggesting. We can take more breaks if you need.”

He smiles, shaking his head. “I’m okay, thank you though. I can push through it, we shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything just because I have an addiction.”

“What kind of a person drinks that much caffeine?”

“The kind of person whose taste buds seem to be dead, so in order to get the desired food high, he has to go to the extremes.”

You laugh, happy he isn’t shying away from you. “That is the weirdest description and I don’t even know how you could’ve come up with something like that.”

“It’s a talent.”

\---

“Night.”

Groaning, you rub your eyes as you sit up slowly. “You have to stop doing that, you’re going to make me lose all sense of time.”

“Well, you’re just now waking up, and it is,” he draws out the s as he looks down at his watch. “Six in the afternoon, so I’d say that saying night instead of morning is fitting.”

You wave your hand dismissively, still trying to fully wake up. “My point remains.”

“Deal with it I guess.”

You turn to glare at him, only to be met with a playful smile. You smile back, abandoning your glare, and pushing yourself up onto your feet.

“We should get going,” you say, extending your hand to him.

He grabs your hand, pulling himself up. “No breakfast?”

“We can eat while we walk.”

Grabbing the backpack from next to Jaemin, you open it to look at the food inside. “How does that orange sound?”

“Sounds delectable.”

You reach into the bag to grab the fruit, scrunching your nose at his wording. “I’m not even fully awake yet, spare me the gross words.”

He winks at you before turning his back to you and starting off in the direction of the house. “No can do, sweetheart.”

You snort, closing the bag and slinging it over your shoulder, and run the few steps to catch up with him. “So tell me about yourself, Mr. Coffee Addict,” you say, peeling the last orange and dropping the peels as you walk.

“What would you like to know?”

You shrug your shoulders. “Anything you want, what do you like to do in your spare time?”

“Well, me and my sister are big TV watchers, so after we’re both done with school for the day, we just sit and watch TV together. I’m also a popcorn addict, so you can imagine my life right now living without my two loves.”

You snort, smiling slightly at his humor. “I think you’ll be okay.” You break the orange in half, offering him his half. “Think of this as a detox.”

He smiles softly, mumbling a thank you before shakily breaking one piece off and putting it into his mouth.

You press your lips into a thin line at the sight, feeling bad there’s nothing either of you could do to make this easier for him.

“What about you, what do you like to do?”

You look down at your orange, sighing as you break a piece off. You struggle to think of anything vaguely interesting to tell him.

You chuckle as the realization comes to you. “I just work.”

“Huh?” He creases his eyebrows, frowning softly. “You don’t have a favorite movie or something?”

You laugh at the expression, smiling softly. “Oh, I do. I don’t really watch movies, but one of my favorite TV shows is Friends. I just haven’t sat down and watched TV in a while, I’m always taking extra shifts at work, studying for some test, etcetera etcetera.”

He nods his head, squinting his eyes at you as he eats another piece. “Well, then let me cordially invite you to a movie night with me and my sister.”

“Oh I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t be any fun,” you decline immediately.

You’ve always dreamed of having a relationship like the one Jaemin has with his sister with someone in your family or even a close friend. One where you could sit and spend time together doing nothing. You and Sam never spent much time alone, the longest being five hours when you were getting married.

But your longingness mixed with the inexperience of being around someone new would surely bring disaster, you couldn’t bring that into something so perfect.

He clicks his tongue, breaking another piece off. “Don’t be silly, you’d fit right in. If you get along with me, you’ll get along with Emma.”

“I don’t know Jaemin, you-”

“One thing you’ll come to learn about me, y/n, I’m always right. The sooner you accept that, the better.”

You look away from the path in front of you, surprised at the sincerity in his voice. “Jaemin, really, as stupid as it sounds I wouldn’t know how to act. I’d probably make your sister uncomfortable, girls aren’t really my strong suit.” “Oh, and guys are?”

You scoff at the teasing tone, looking back over to glare at him. When he meets your eye, a playful smirk plastered on his face, he simply winks.

“Oh shut up,” you say, rolling your eyes. “I don’t know, talking to guys has always been somewhat easy to me. Maybe it’s because I grew up with two brothers, but girls have just never made sense to me.”

He nods his head, playful smile still present. “Well, then we can consider this training, you can’t live in fear of half the population for the rest of your life.”

“I’m not scared,” you defend, eating your last piece of orange.

“The whole reason you’re not accepting my invitation is that you’re scared of my sister.”

“Who said you’re not the one scared of? Someone who drinks four shots of espresso per drink is not to be trusted.”

He clicks his tongue. “Well I think people with that much snake knowledge shouldn’t be trusted, what do you have to say about that huh?”

You smile at his response, his teasing tone replaced with an offended one. “I say that because of our situation, I’m kind of glad I obtained this information. At least I’m not the one in pain.”

“Touché, my dude, touché.”

\---

“Y/n,” he says, grabbing your arm to make you stop. “Is that a bag up there?”

Following the direction of his finger, you find a neon yellow backpack on the side of one of the hills a few feet in front of you.

“I guess so.” You start walking again, sighing as you see you’d have to climb up a little of the hill in order to reach it. “Did we find the other one this fast? I feel like we just got the other one.”

“I don’t honestly remember.”

Neither did you, if you were being honest, and the idea that time was beginning to blur together made you uncomfortable.

“Rock paper scissors on who has to climb to get it?” you ask as you both approach the base of the hill.

“I can do it,” he offers, pulling off his hoodie and handing it to you. “It isn’t that far up.”

“Oh, thank you.”

He smiles, turning away from you and pulling himself up the hill.

It only takes him a few pulls before he reaches where the backpack is wedged between two rocks.

He pulls out the bag and lightly tosses it your way, warning you beforehand with a “catch.”

“Jaemin, no!” you exclaim, dropping his sweater in surprise.

He laughs as he starts climbing his way down, looking over his shoulder at you. “You caught it, what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that I’m not a fan of people throwing stuff at me.”

He laughs again, pushing slightly off the hill and letting himself fall the rest of the way down. “You’re fine, you big baby.”

You huff, opening the bag and looking at the contents inside. Frowning, you reach into the bag to pull out an unfamiliar object.

“What’s that?” Jaemin asks as he walks over and picks up his sweatshirt.

“I think it’s a walkie talkie.”

As soon as the words leave your mouth, the device comes to life. “Numbers 24 and 25.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @doiedreams and @meraki-mark for proofreading this! I’m also sorry this took five and a half years to get you, I was struggling on what I wanted this part to look like. That, and I just watched this amazing drama called Go Ahead. If any of you have spare time and are looking for something to watch I strongly recommend. It has such a beautiful storyline and all the cast is phenomenal.  
> Thank you for reading and I hope you have a good day/night!


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